I still don’t understand how that’s possible. Didn’t I just get off the plane? I’m not ready to leave! But know once I get home and settled I’ll be happy to be back.
This past weekend was my last one in HCMC. Friday night Pam and I went to try this Vietnamese restaurant that served mostly dishes from Hue that I was so excited for. We got there at exactly 9PM which is when they close. Total bummer! So the place next door looked really good from the outside and decided to give it a shot. They sat us upstairs and it was all open. Usually not a problem, but it seemed extra buggy and my skin was so itchy. Ordering was a project. The wait staff did not understand us at all – which is the first time this has happened. Honestly, I felt like we were on a hidden camera show. Pam ordered sweet potato’s and was served steamed spinach…But it’s all about the journey…I ordered a Goi salad which was delicious and steamed green cabbage with garlic.
After a stressful and rather unpleasant dinner we decided to end the night on a positive note by going to Saigon Saigon for a drink. This is the rooftop bar atop the Caravelle hotel. I’ve heard the atmosphere is nice and the drinks are good. We’d been meaning to go there so that was the perfect time. Our elevator ride up was interesting. There was an interesting looking man with about 5 girls that looked as though they could be escorts…Not trying to stereotype but sometimes the shoe just fits. We reached the rooftop and could hear live salsa music playing from the elevator. The inside scene was lively and there were live Cuban salsa dancers shaking their thangs in front of a band. We were seated outside and started to unwind! I ordered frozen white wine sangria and Pam ordered “reflections”
It really was a nice way to end the evening. The following day I had a long list of things I wanted to get through. I woke up, had a great workout, got ready and then went to X Rock which is a rock climbing wall I had wanted to try it out since we got here. I had such a blast and will be going back again before I head back to the states. After that I did my last round at Saigon Square and Ben Than Market. I read an article on this pagoda that is made up of mosaic tiles and really wanted to go. The driver of course conveniently did not know how to get to District 8 where it was and he didn’t know how to get to Chinatown either…So that eliminated things I had wanted to do. I will go there before I leave!
I got back to my apartment and started packing some stuff up, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for a night of fun. Dave, Margarita, Mark, Pam and I all had planned on going to dinner and drinks that night. We ended up at one of my favorite restaurants, Cepage! It was just as good as I remembered. We then headed off to Vasco’s for a couple of drinks, then Saigon Saigon, and ended the night at a club called Apocalypse. It was my funnest night in HCMC!
I have to back track for a second though. Pam’s friend Emily had requested to stay with Pam on Saturday night. She was flying out on a 6AM flight the following morning and didn’t feel like spending $ for one night. Pam of course said no problem despite not really wanting for her to stay. I could tell Pam was annoyed before Emily even got here and I soon realized why. I have never met a character like this 4’11 little ball of fire! It was her way or no way at all and she had to disagree with everyone on everything. Dave was the most patient of all in dealing with her. Mark, Margarita, and I gave up pretty quickly. And Pam was being a good sport as well. She didn’t want to eat with us because the food was not strictly Vietnamese or vegetarian. Since it was her last night she wanted Vietnamese only, and really wanted Pho 2000 – which is basically like a Mc Donald’s. Its fast food noodle soup which would be the equivalent to eating Ramen noodles. We told her there was one a block away. She soon came back to tell us this was not a “real Pho 2000.” Apparently she had a book of trademarks and there were chains that were knock off’s of the original chain despite them being exactly the same. She did not believe it was “real.” So she wanted to walk all the way to Ben Than and eat at a Pho 2000 that she knew was vegetarian.
She returned before we were done eating and came along to the next stop on what became a somewhat pub crawl for us all. Emily does not drink and had no interest in having a sip of anything at all. By the time we got to Apocalypse she’d had enough, the smoke was bothering her asthma and she took Pam’s key to go crash at our apartment. She must have had the key close to her cell phone bc the key was de-activated once she got there and tried calling Pam 14 times. Pam’s phone rarely works as it is and there would have been no way to hear it ringing in the club we were in. So as we got in the cab Pam heard her phone. It was Emily and she was locked out…
It all ended well, she made her flight and we didn’t have to deal with her anymore. It was quite comical though.
Sunday was a perfect day to lounge by the pool and veg out. I had another one of my fun workouts on the tennis court, packed some more things up and watched I love you man – such a random, but funny movie. By 8:30PM I was exhausted and felt like it should be midnight.
It was a perfect way to spend my last weekend here. I am looking forward to spending my next weekend in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay – it’s the trip I have been most looking forward to and I don’t want to rush it here because then it’s all over! I’m enjoying my last few days here and soaking it all in, trying not to rush a thing – which is how I usually operate!
This past weekend was my last one in HCMC. Friday night Pam and I went to try this Vietnamese restaurant that served mostly dishes from Hue that I was so excited for. We got there at exactly 9PM which is when they close. Total bummer! So the place next door looked really good from the outside and decided to give it a shot. They sat us upstairs and it was all open. Usually not a problem, but it seemed extra buggy and my skin was so itchy. Ordering was a project. The wait staff did not understand us at all – which is the first time this has happened. Honestly, I felt like we were on a hidden camera show. Pam ordered sweet potato’s and was served steamed spinach…But it’s all about the journey…I ordered a Goi salad which was delicious and steamed green cabbage with garlic.
After a stressful and rather unpleasant dinner we decided to end the night on a positive note by going to Saigon Saigon for a drink. This is the rooftop bar atop the Caravelle hotel. I’ve heard the atmosphere is nice and the drinks are good. We’d been meaning to go there so that was the perfect time. Our elevator ride up was interesting. There was an interesting looking man with about 5 girls that looked as though they could be escorts…Not trying to stereotype but sometimes the shoe just fits. We reached the rooftop and could hear live salsa music playing from the elevator. The inside scene was lively and there were live Cuban salsa dancers shaking their thangs in front of a band. We were seated outside and started to unwind! I ordered frozen white wine sangria and Pam ordered “reflections”
It really was a nice way to end the evening. The following day I had a long list of things I wanted to get through. I woke up, had a great workout, got ready and then went to X Rock which is a rock climbing wall I had wanted to try it out since we got here. I had such a blast and will be going back again before I head back to the states. After that I did my last round at Saigon Square and Ben Than Market. I read an article on this pagoda that is made up of mosaic tiles and really wanted to go. The driver of course conveniently did not know how to get to District 8 where it was and he didn’t know how to get to Chinatown either…So that eliminated things I had wanted to do. I will go there before I leave!
I got back to my apartment and started packing some stuff up, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for a night of fun. Dave, Margarita, Mark, Pam and I all had planned on going to dinner and drinks that night. We ended up at one of my favorite restaurants, Cepage! It was just as good as I remembered. We then headed off to Vasco’s for a couple of drinks, then Saigon Saigon, and ended the night at a club called Apocalypse. It was my funnest night in HCMC!
I have to back track for a second though. Pam’s friend Emily had requested to stay with Pam on Saturday night. She was flying out on a 6AM flight the following morning and didn’t feel like spending $ for one night. Pam of course said no problem despite not really wanting for her to stay. I could tell Pam was annoyed before Emily even got here and I soon realized why. I have never met a character like this 4’11 little ball of fire! It was her way or no way at all and she had to disagree with everyone on everything. Dave was the most patient of all in dealing with her. Mark, Margarita, and I gave up pretty quickly. And Pam was being a good sport as well. She didn’t want to eat with us because the food was not strictly Vietnamese or vegetarian. Since it was her last night she wanted Vietnamese only, and really wanted Pho 2000 – which is basically like a Mc Donald’s. Its fast food noodle soup which would be the equivalent to eating Ramen noodles. We told her there was one a block away. She soon came back to tell us this was not a “real Pho 2000.” Apparently she had a book of trademarks and there were chains that were knock off’s of the original chain despite them being exactly the same. She did not believe it was “real.” So she wanted to walk all the way to Ben Than and eat at a Pho 2000 that she knew was vegetarian.
She returned before we were done eating and came along to the next stop on what became a somewhat pub crawl for us all. Emily does not drink and had no interest in having a sip of anything at all. By the time we got to Apocalypse she’d had enough, the smoke was bothering her asthma and she took Pam’s key to go crash at our apartment. She must have had the key close to her cell phone bc the key was de-activated once she got there and tried calling Pam 14 times. Pam’s phone rarely works as it is and there would have been no way to hear it ringing in the club we were in. So as we got in the cab Pam heard her phone. It was Emily and she was locked out…
It all ended well, she made her flight and we didn’t have to deal with her anymore. It was quite comical though.
Sunday was a perfect day to lounge by the pool and veg out. I had another one of my fun workouts on the tennis court, packed some more things up and watched I love you man – such a random, but funny movie. By 8:30PM I was exhausted and felt like it should be midnight.
It was a perfect way to spend my last weekend here. I am looking forward to spending my next weekend in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay – it’s the trip I have been most looking forward to and I don’t want to rush it here because then it’s all over! I’m enjoying my last few days here and soaking it all in, trying not to rush a thing – which is how I usually operate!
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